First of all, let’s reflect on what we really do (no matter what kind of video projects we’re creating):

We are storytellers.

If you’re making a marketing video, you’re telling the story of why your viewers should buy your product. An educational video on topography tells the story of surfaces and dimensions. A how-to video might tell the story of how to build a deck, or make Indonesian cuisine.

Your video project has a goal- to sell, to educate, to entertain, to communicate, to persuade.

If your video looks and sounds amateurish, few- or no one- will buy your product, learn your material, support your cause, laugh at your jokes or be scared of your monsters.

The reason DVcreators.net teaches, in our workshops, downloads, and other resources, so many techniques, secrets and tricks for making your finished project look world class is that with high production values, your viewers’ minds open and they are put into a captivated, entranced state in which they are experiencing your story, not merely watching your edit.

The next time you’re in the middle of a really great film at a theater, look around at your fellow audience members. They are not aware of you, or the exit signs, or even of the fact they are in a theater. They are so entranced with the story, they are completely focused on the movie and have lost all awareness of anything but the story. They are truly on a desert island, out in space, or in Middle Earth.

Now look up at the screen. Obviously, with your budget and timeframe, you can’t duplicate the sets, Elijah Wood is not an option for your spokesperson, and the Digital Domain special effects are a bit beyond your reach.

But what CAN you achieve?

Can you shoot your subjects with the same framing? Can you shoot a slower, non-interlaced frame rate? Can you use the same camera moves, angles, coverage and creative composition? Can you shoot with nice lighting, shallow depth of field, reduce video artifacts and have artistic color balance and saturation?

YES YOU CAN!!!

And if you do only those things, your projects will be much closer to Hollywood standards, and your viewers will “smell the popcorn”- meaning when they view your project the same chemicals will be triggered in their brain as the movie theater, meaning they will focus on your project and it will be a winner.

Herein you will find seven articles about shooting more filmlike video, called “Seven Secrets of Shooting Video to Look like Film”, roughly ordered least important or relevant to most.